l assembly and church of the first-born," "_are
come_" in this dispensation. Heb. 12:22, 23.

CHAPTER VI.

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as
it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying,
Come and see.

2. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him
had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth
conquering, and to conquer.

We have now reached the point where the thrilling interest of this book
commences. With the opening of the seals of the book of God's purposes
we have the prophecies of the future, the unfolding of the events to be,
described under appropriate symbols. The contents of six seals are
contained in this and the following chapter, while the seventh occupies
the remainder of the volume.

A word relative to the plan of the prophecies will be appropriate at
this time. I will again state what will be made very clear
hereafter--that the events are narrated by series, and not by centuries.
A particular theme is taken up and carried through to its completion,
then the narrative returns and another subject is traced to its end.
Thus, the entire book consists of a number of distinct parallel series
covering the same ground.

Upon the opening of the first seal, John is summoned as with a voice of
thunder by one of the living creatures to draw near; and the object that
meets his vision is a white horse with its rider. The symbol is that of
a victorious warrior, being drawn from the civil and military life of
the Romans. The symbol is one of dignity. It does not consist of some
inanimate object such as a mountain, a sea, or a river, neither is it a
wild ferocious beast; but it is that of a living, active, intelligent
being, and he, as denoted by various insignia, a conqueror. He rides a
white horse, such as victors used in triumphal procession; his bow and
crown are also symbols of victory. He goes forth conquering and to
conquer, or to make conquests.

This symbol is a faithful representation of the early triumphs of
Christianity in its aggressive conflict with the huge systems of error
with which it had to contend. Some have supposed that the rider
represented Jesus Christ; but this can not be, for many reasons, two of
which I will give. First. Christ always appears on the symbolic stage in
his own character, unrepresented by another, for the reason, as before
stated, that there is no creature that